The multipurpose utilization of coconut by-products in agriculture: Prospects and concerns

The by-products obtained from the coconut industry goes out as waste and pollute the environment, if not properly managed. In order to convert these by-products such as coir pith and coco peat into a natural organic resource, it is processed and utilized as an economical input in agriculture as well as in horticulture. Processed coir pith is used as an excellent soil amendment because of its favourable physical properties in maintaining soil health. In addition to this, it finds its importance as medium for rooting for plants, hardening of air layers, storage of scions and horticultural produce.

Review Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.606.165

The Multipurpose Utilization of Coconut By-Products in Agriculture:

Prospects and Concerns

Shiva Kumar Udayana 1* , Anandkumar Naorem 2 and Naorem Arunkumar Singh 1

1

Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi

Viswavidyalaya Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal-741252, India 2

KVK (ICAR), West Garo Hills, Tura, Sangsanggiri, Meghalaya-794005, India

*Corresponding author

A B S T R A C T

Introduction

In India, according to Coconut Development

Board, India, 1975, 81 thousand hectares of

land is under coconut cultivation according to

a data provided by Coconut Development

Board, India in the year 2014-2015 The

productivity of coconut cultivation is 10345

nuts/ha in the year 2014-2015 with south

Indian states especially Kerala, Karnataka and

Tamil Nadu (Mathew, 2004) occupying the

largest area of coconut production The

endosperm of the coconut is utilized for

human consumption whereas the by-products

serve as raw materials for manufacturing several other value added products These by-products are now studied for use in agriculture in a view to supplement or replace the inorganic fertilizers or other costly inputs used in cultivation by processing the by-products into more productive form (Prabhuand Thomas, 2002) The present paper will focus on by-products of coconut and their utilization in agriculture Coconut

(Cocusnucifera L.) pith or coir (botanically

mesocarp of the fruit), is a by-product product

International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences

ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 6 (2017) pp 1408-1415

Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

The by-products obtained from the coconut industry goes out as waste and pollute the environment, if not properly managed In order to convert these by-products such as coir pith and coco peat into a natural organic resource,

it is processed and utilized as an economical input in agriculture as well as

in horticulture Processed coir pith is used as an excellent soil amendment because of its favourable physical properties in maintaining soil health In addition to this, it finds its importance as medium for rooting for plants, hardening of air layers, storage of scions and horticultural produce With its special characteristics of maintain high water holding capacity, it is gaining its interests in rain fed agriculture Use of these by-products as mulch, remediation product, disease suppression, hydroponics etc adds to its quality Bringing out the several applications of coir pith/ coco peat, it deserves to gain the attention of the researchers to stud on its usefulness and its potential in food production

K e y w o r d s

Coconut,

Coco peat, Coir

pith, Hydroponics,

Soil amendment.

Accepted:

19 May 2017

Available Online:

10 June 2017

Article Info

in coconut production and it has been studied

in different areas of research because of its

physical and chemical properties favourable

for many purposes (Prabhu and Thomas,

2002).Coir pith is defined as an agro-waste

produced during coir fibre extraction,

constituting about 70% of coconut husk

(Pazhanivel et al., 2011)

Why coir pith or cocopeat?

Among various by-products, interest is

developed on coir pith due to several reasons

one of which is the limitation in the

availability and accessibility of other organic

manures such as compost, FYM, green

manure etc Coir pith are conventionally used

in land fillings and manuring purposes

However, the quantity of waste produced per

year seems to be a difficult cause and a

problem in polluting aquatic as well as

terrestrial environment

In addition to this, due to inappropriate

disposal, during rainy season, chemicals

found in coir pith such as polyphenols and

organic matter may leach out leading to

hiking of BOD and COD in aquatic

environment (Pazhanivel et al., 2011) The

dumping of the coir pith itself in water bodies

may increase the concentration of hydrogen

sulphide, methane and carbon dioxide that are

toxic gases (Paramanandhamand Ross, 2015)

Therefore, it calls the attention of all workers

and researchers to investigate and assess more

information on sustainable utilization of this

agro waste into productive manner

But, with proper management and storage,

coir pith can be an excellent agricultural

input Coco peat has high moisture retaining

capacity, high total pore spaces, low bulk

density and slow biodegradation (Awang et

al., 2009; Treder and Nowak, 2002; De Kreij

and Leeuven, 2001) Another reason is the

non-renewable capacity of peat and legal

restriction in using peat in some regions

Therefore, coco peat is being tested as a supplement or substitution to peat as it is renewable and has peat-like properties Coco peat has favourable pH which is found to be optimum for many plants whereas peat is highly acidic So, it reduces the cost of cultivation by reducing the cost of liming (Cresswell, 2011)

Utilization of coconut by-products in agriculture

Soil amendment

Soil amendments are those materials when added to soil, it must modify the soil properties in a positive way so as to make the soil healthy Coir pith is especially of high demand in dry areas due to its high moisture

Paramanandham and Ross (2015) and Pavithran (1993) studied the microstructure of coir pith compounds and observed the presence of numerous open cells forming large empty cavities, forming as capillaries for water and nutrient adsorption When coir pith was added to clayey soil, it modifies the stickiness of the clay soil and enhances the drainage properties of the soil (Mayalagu, 1983)

Application of coir pith as soil amendment in long term basis could reduce the bulk density, increase the water holding capacity and improve the organic carbon content of soil (Muthurayar and Dhanarajan, 2013) The low particle density of coir pith itself is due to its high specific surface that results in high cation exchange capacity of around 38.9-60 meq/l00g, which is favourable for adsorption

of sufficient amount of nutrients for the plants (Jeyaseeli and Raj, 2010) Moreover, according to Kadalli et al., 2001a, decomposition of coir pith produced humic compounds from the lignin compounds and it improves nutrient adsorptive capacity

Horticulture purposes

Coco peat finds its proper applicability in the

cultivation of horticultural crops as shown in

table 1 Additionally, the humic substances in

coco peat play important role in making it

suitable for use in plant propagation and

culture of plants, as humic substances are

known to have hormone-like activity and can

stimulate root and plant growth (Prabha et al.,

2013)

Planting/potting medium

A good pot culture medium must be a good

source of nutrients and water besides

providing support to the growing plants Coco

peat possesses these properties in addition to

its low weight (Prasad and Roeber, 1997)

Singh, 1998 investigated the utilization of

coco peat as rooting medium and found that it

was a better substitute to commercial peat

Coco peat is also an excellent pot culture

medium, if washed repeatedly with deionized

water to leach out chloride and sodium

(Jeyaseeli and Raj, 2010)

Reclaimation and remediation of soils

Many organic sources are tested for their

efficiency in reclaiming degraded soils in a

sustainable way In certain problem soils, coir

pith has been studied for its potential in

remediation of polluted affected soils

Jayakumar et al., (1997) and Singarum (1994)

reported that crops grown in coir pith

amended soil (polluted with tannery effluents)

showed an increase in yield as compared to

the soil without coir pith

Santiago and Santhamani (2010) reported the

use of coir pith in remediation process of a

chromium contaminated soil It was found to

be important in reclaiming salt affected soils

(Marimuthu and Nagarajan, 1993; Clarson,

1986) by decreasing the salt crust formation and helping in cation exchange process to reduce exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP)

Soil less culture medium

Soilless media are commercialized among the consumers because of its good consistency, proper aeration, and low bulk density with fewer risks in shipping and transportation

costs (Nazari et al., 2011)

Joseph and Muthuchamy (2014) reported the importance of coir pith enhanced with nutrients in a soil less medium Soilless culture medium is effective in enhancing water use efficiency and improves the nutrient management in cultivation of the crops Coco peat is found to be one of the best ingredients in soilless culture medium, replacing sphagnum peat as reported by

Hussain et al., (2014) and Pill and Ridely

(1998)

Integrated nutrient management

Coir pith compost is a good source of nutrients and performs better when enriched

or blended with nutrients (Thomas et al., 2013; Kumar and Ganesh, 2012; Ghosh et al., 2007) Uthiah et al., (1993) reported that

application of coir pith around the coconut tree at radius of 1 metre and a thickness of 10

cm increased the yield by 25%

Blended coir pith enriched with calcium and magnesium nitrate at 7 g/l performed equally with the media amended with neem cake and bone meal mixture (Ross, 2002) As coir pith

is acidic, it also enhances the release of occluded and mineral potassium in soil, cutting down the demand and need of external potash fertilizers (Savithri and Hameed, 1994)

Table.1 Applications of coir pith/ coco peat in horticulture

Hardening of air layers SinningiaspeciosaHierm Kashyap and Dhiman, 2011

1998 Storage of horticultural

produce

Table.2 Table depicting the disease suppressing ability of coir pith

Forms of coir pith Pathogens/ disease

suppressed

Processed coir pith Phytophthora capsici Suppressed Hyder et al.,

2009

2009 Coir pith composted

using Pleurotus

djamor at the rate of

l0 tha-1

Dry rot disease of black

Macrophomina phaseolina

Comparable to the application of 0.1%

carbendazim

Ramamoorthy et al., 1999b

Decomposed coir pith Root diseases of

capsicum and black gram

Marimuthu, 1993b Processed coir pith Damping off caused by

Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium equiseti

Nagarajan, 1993

In rainfed agriculture, use of coir pith is found

to be extensive as it regulates the moisture

level in soil thereby conserving more water

Moreover, coir pith is rich in potassium

(0.8%) and therefore, plays a crucial role in

osmoregulation of the crops (Savithri and

Hameed, 1994) The nutrient use efficiency of

nitrogeneous fertilizers is often low owing to

its various ways of losses Nitrification

inhibitors are used in this case to increase the nutrient use efficiency by regulating the rate

of nitrification (Prasad et al., 1971)

Chemicals present in coir pith such as polyphenols and tannins of plant origin are effective in retarding the nitrification process

(Baldwin et al., 1983; Sivapalan and

Fernando, 1983; Basarba, 1964)

Suppressing pathogens

In addition to the favourable physical

characteristics of coco peat, it has also

inherent properties to plant disease

suppressing capacity Coco peat can suppress

many fungal diseases (Hyder et al., 2009;

Ramamoorthy et al., 1999b) and because of

this additional benefit, it is likely that it will

become a part of integrated disease

management systems for horticultural crops

as shown in table 2

Horizontal mulch

Coir pith has high C: N ratio, slow

decomposition rate and high moisture

retaining capacity, which makes it suitable for

good mulch (Solaimalai et al., 2001)

Limitations

The residence time of coir pith in

environment is long enough to cause

pollution, if it is not managed properly The

amount of waste generated from the coconut

industry is large and creates the disposal

problem due to its high lignocellulosic

material which is decomposed in a slower

rate Therefore, for the lignins to be

decomposed, specific micro-organisms are

needed for its degradation Coir pith must be

processed to be use in different agricultural

purposes; otherwise, the raw, natural form is

not conducive for growth of crops as it has

high C: N ratio (Wang et al., 1967) Although

coir pith is rich in potassium, it is

comparatively deficient in nitrogen and

phosphorus (Abad et al., 2002) In addition to

it, the presence of chemical compounds such

as soluble tannin related phenolics

compounds do not favour the growth and

development of plants (Thampan, 2000) In

few times, coco peat causes negative impact

on air-water relation through high water level,

thus creating poor aeration and influencing

oxygen diffusion rate to roots of the plants Yau and Murphy (1998) reported the

inhibition of root growth in Lepidium sativum

by application of raw coir pith extracts They also reported that farmers who used raw coir pith complained that crops developed chlorosis symptoms

Despite of few limitations, agro-waste products of coconut industry can be utilized

as important inputs in agriculture and horticulture with proper processing methods and management These by-products might efficiently supplement the integrated nutrient management and could be one of the economical inputs in maintaining soil heath With all these information, it can be concluded that further research on these by-products might bring out more usefulness of these waste and aids in successful sustainable

agriculture

References

Abad, M., Noguera, P., Puchades, R., Maquieira, A and Noguera, V 2002 Physico-chemical and chemical properties of some coconut coir dust for use as a peat substitute for containerized

ornamental plants Biores Technol., 82:

241–245

Ali, S.S 2014 Effect of different media of

cuttings on rooting of guava (Psidium guajava L.) Eur J Exp Biol., 4(2):

88-92

Baldwin, L.T., Olson, R.K and Reiners, W.A

1983 Protein binding phenolics and the inhibition of nitrification in subalpine

balsam fir soils Soil Biol Biochem., 15:

419-423

Basmba, J 1964 Influence of vegetable

tannins on nitrification in soil Plant Soil, 21: 8-16

Bharati, K and Dhiman, S.R 2011 Effect of media on hardening of in vitro multiplied plantlets of gloxinia and

saintpaulia under low cost polytunnels

Int J Farm Sci., 1(2): 63-67

Catibod, N.A 2000 Compost from coco coir

dust PCARRD Moniot., 28(1): 6

Clarson, D 1986 Coir dust for economic

reclamation of saline-alkali soils and for

better profit Indian Coconut J., 14(9):

6-9

Cresswell, G 2011 Coir Dust A Proven

Alternative to Peat, Cresswell

Horticulrutal Services, pp 1-13

(Report)

De Kreij, C and Leeuven, G.J.L 2001

Growth of pot plants in treated coir dust

as compared to peat Commun Soil Sci

Plant Analysis, 32: 2255-2265

Ghosh, P.K., Sarma, U.S., Ravindranath,

A.D., Radhakrishnan, S and Ghosh, P

2007 A novel method for accelerated

composting of coir pith Energy Fuels,

21: 822–827

Hussain, A., Iqbal, K., Aziem, S., Mahato, P

and Negi, A.K 2014 A review on the

science of growing crops without soil

(soilless culture) – A novel alternative

for growing crops Int J Agri Crop

Sci., 7(11): 833-842

Hyder, N., Sims, J.J and Wegulo, S.N 2009

In Vitro Suppression of Soilborne Plant

Pathogens by Coir Hort Technol.,

19(1): 96-100

Jayakumar, M., Eyini, M and Velmurugan,

R l997 Effect of seed Rhizobium

pelleting treatment and addition of

coir-pith compost to soil on growth and

nodulation of fluoride water irrigated

blackgram (Phaseolus mungo) Indian

J Agri Sci., 67: 610-603

Jeyaseeli, D.M and Raj, S.P 2010 Chemical

characteristics of coir pith as a function

of its particle size to be used as soilless

medium Ecoscan, 4(2&3): 163-169

Joseph, A and Muthuchamy, I 2014

Productivity, Quality and Economics of

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum

Mill.) Cultivation in Aggregate

Hydroponics – A Case Study from Coimbatore Region of Tamil Nadu

Indian J Sci Technol., 7(8): 1078–

1086

Kadalli, G.G., Suseela Devi, L., Siddaramappa, R and John, E 2001a Characterization of humic fractions extracted from coirdust- based

composts J Indian Soc Soil Sci., 48:

51-55

Lakshmi Prabha, M., Shanmugapriya, M and Soniya, D 2013.Composting of coir pith using biopond effluent from effluent treatment plant of

petrochemical division Int J Adv Pharmacy, Biol Chem., 2(1): 173-178

Lokesha, R., Mahishi, D.M and Shivashankar, G 1988 Studies on use

of coconut coir dust as a rooting media

Curr Res., 17: 157-158

Marimuthu, T and Nagarajau, R 1993 Coir

pith: A useful crop residue Biol Edu.,

161-164

Mathew, M.T 2004 Coconut industry in

India: An overview Indian Coconut J.,

35(7): 3-17

Maurya, R.K., Ray, N.R., Chavda, J.C., Chauhan, V.B and Patil, A.K 2012 Evaluation of different organic media and water holding materials with IBA

on rooting and survival of air layering

in guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv Allahabad Safeda, Asian J Horticult.,

7(1): 44-47

Mayalagu, K., et al 1983 In: Proc National Seminar on Utilization of Organic Wastes, AC & RI Madurai, Tamil Nadu, pp 116-118

Muthurayar, T and Dhanarajan, M.S 2013

composting of coir pith waste as influenced by different agro industrial

wastes Agri Sci., 4(5B): 28-30

Nazari, F., Farahmand, H., Khui, M.K and Salehi, H 2011 Effects of coir as a component of potting media on growth,

flowering and physiological

characteristics of hyacinth (Hyacinthus

orientalis L cv Sonbol-e-Irani) Int J

Agri Food Sci., 1(2): 34-38

Paramanandham, J and Ronald Ross, P

2015 Scanning electron microscopic

analysis of coir pith after subjected to

different treatments Recent Trends in

Physical Chem.: An Int J., 2(1): 1-3

Paramanandham, J., Ronald Ross, P.,

Abbiramy, K.S and Muthulingam, M

2014 Studies on the moisture retention

capacity of coir pith, as a function of

time Int J Chem Tech Res., 6(12):

5049-5052

Patel, D.M., Nehete, D.S., Jadav, R.G and

Satodiya, B.N 2012 Effect of PGR’s

and rooting media on air layering of

different pomegranate (Punica

granatum L.) cultivars The Asian J

Horticulture, 7(1): 89-93

Pavithran, C 1993 Possibility of using

coconut pith as a matrix for

controlled/slow release systems in

agriculture Paper presented at the

workshop on utilization of coir pith,

Pollachi on 13 feb.1993, Coir Board,

Cochin

Pazhanivel, G., Chandrasekaran, P., Prabha,

D.S., Bhuvaneswari, B., Malliga, P and

Chellapandi, P 2011 Effect of coir pith

based cyanobacterial biofertilizer for

improving fatty acid contents in Arachis

hypogaea L (Groundnut) oil seeds J

Adv Develop Res., 2(1): 38-41

Pill, W.G and Ridely, K.T 1998.Growth of

tomato and coreopsis in response to coir

dust in soilless media Hort Tech., 8:

401-406

Prabhu, S.R and George, V.T 2002

Biological conversion of coir pith into a

value-added organic resource and its

application in Agri-Horticulture:

Current status, prospects and

perspective J Plant Crops, 30(1):

1-17

Prasad, M and Roeber, R.U 1997 Physical, chemical and biological properties of

coir dust Acta Horticulturae, 456:

21-29

Prasad, R., Rajale, G.B and Lakhdive, B.A

1971 Nitrification retarders and slow

release nitrogen fertilizers Adv Agron.,

23: 337-383

Rema, J and Krishnamoorthy, B 1998 Effect

of packing materials and storage of scions on graft success in nutmeg

(Myristica fragrans) J Spices and Aromatic Crops, 7: 147-148

Roonamoorthy, M., Muthusamy, M., Meena, B., Sitharaman, K and Alice, D 1999b Composting of coir pith using ligno- cellulolytic fungi for the management of

root rot of black gram Mushroom Res.,

8: 13-17

Santiago, M and Santhamani, S 2010 Remediation of chromium contaminated soils: Potential for phyto and

bioremediation 19th World Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World 1 – 6 August 2010, Brisbane, Australia

Savithri, P and Hameed, K.H 1994 Characteristics of coconut coir peat and its utilization in agriculture J Plantation Crops, 22: 1-18

Singarum, P 1994 Effect of coir pith as an amendment for tannery polluted soils

Madras Agri J., 81: 548-549

Sivapalan, K l952 Humification of

polyphenol-rich plant residues Soil Biol Biochem., 14: 309-310

Solaimalai, A., Ramesh, P.T and Ravisankar,

N 2001 Utilization of raw coir pith in

crop production -a review Agri Rev.,

22(2): 102-108

Suresh Kumar, R and Ganesh, P 2012 Effect of different bio-composting techniques on physico - chemical and

biological changes in coir pith Int J Recent Scientific Res., 3(11): 914 – 918

Thampan, P.K 2000 Recycling of coconut

biomass for sustainable production

Indian coconut J., 7: 5-6

Theradimani, M and Marimuthu, T 1993b

Effect of decomposed coconut coir pith

on damping-off of chillies and root rot

of blackgram Plant Dis Res., 8: 1-5

Thomas, G.V., Palaniswami, C., Prabhu, S.R.,

MuraliGopal and Gupta, A 2013

Co-composting of coconut coir pith with

solid poultry manure Curr Sci., 104(2):

25

Thompson, A.K., Been, B.O and Perkins, C

1974 Effects of humidity on ripening of

plantain bananas Experientia, 30:

35-36

Treder, J 2008 The effects of cocopeat and

fertilization on thegrowth and flowering

of oriental lily ‘star gazer’ J Fruit

Ornamental Plant Res., 16: 361-370

Treder, J and Nowak, J 2002

Zastosowaniepodłoży kokosowych w

uprawieroślinrabatowych Zesz Probl

Post Nauk Rol., 485: 335-358 (in

Polish with English abstract)

Uthiah, B.C., Indiresh, K.M and Shetty, P.T.K 1993 Preliminary studies on the effect of mulches and irrigation on growth of young coconut plants in

coastal Karnataka Indian Coconut J.,

24(6): 5-9

Wang, T.S.C., Yang, T.K and Chuang, T.T

1967 Soli phenolic acids as plant

growth inhibitors Soil Sci., 103:

239-246

Warrier, K.C.S., Kumar, K.G.A and Venkalaramanau, K 1998 A low cost rooting medium for macropropagation

of eucalyptus Sylva Plus, 6: 13

Yahya, A., Anieza, S.S., Rosli, B.M and Ahmad, S 2009 Chemical and Physical Characteristics of Cocopeat-Based Media Mixtures and Their Effects on the Growth and Development of Celosia

cristata American J Agri Biol Sci.,

4(1): 63-71

Yau, P.Y and Murphy, R.J 1998 Enhanced biodegradation of coco peat by soft rot

fungi Paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the IRG, Maastricht, The Netherlands 14-19th June, 1998

How to cite this article:

Shiva Kumar Udayana, Anandkumar Naorem and Naorem Arunkumar Singh 2017 The Multipurpose Utilization of Coconut By-Products in Agriculture: Prospects and Concerns

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci 6(6): 1408-1415 doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.606.165